It Took Us Forever To Get Here
by Amelia89
Summary: A quick Lucian one-shot, based around the recent Ustream (which I haven't actually watched right through yet).


**Okay so this is just a quick Lucian one-shot. I am still writing In These Arms, and I hope to have the next chapter up by tomorrow evening.**

* * *

Ian could hear music playing and he couldn't work out where it was coming from, it took him a few moments to realise that it was his phone. He opened his eyes and glanced around, he'd fallen asleep on his couch again and the glass that still held some of the vodka and tonic he'd been drinking was dangerously close to spilling all over his floor. He put the glass down and picked his phone up from the coffee table. Whoever had been calling had given up now, so he pressed the home button to see who it was. He furrowed his brow slightly when he saw that it had been Lucy.

Lucy Hale his gorgeous, vivacious best friend and co-star, and the woman of his dreams. They had planned a Ustream for the following day, and Ian was worried that she might be calling to cancel, she had mentioned to him earlier that she was going out with her friend Annie and Ian thought maybe she was calling to say she'd had a little too much to drink.

He swiped his finger across the screen so he could call her back, smiling to himself when she answered almost immediately.

"_Shmian, I didn't wake you did I?" _Lucy asked down the phone.

Ian chuckled, "Yes," he replied, "but it's a good thing you did. I was just about to spill my drink everywhere."

Lucy laughed loudly, there had been many times when she too had fallen asleep with a glass of wine in her hand and been woken up by Annie taking it off her before she spilt it all over herself and the floor. _"I'm just on my way home," _she said, "_and I was wondering if I could stay in your apartment tonight?"_

Ian smiled to himself again; a few months ago Lucy would not have called him to ask him this but since she had ended her relationship with Chris Zylka in mid July she had been going out of her way to mend the fractures in their relationship that had been caused by the older man's jealousy.

"_I've had a bit to drink too," _Lucy continued, _"and I don't want to be late tomorrow. Can I? Would it be okay?"_

"Yeah," Ian replied, "that'll be fine."

"_Are you sure?" _Lucy asked and Ian was convinced he could hear the relief in her voice almost as if she had thought he'd say 'No'.

"I'm sure Luc," he said, "You remember the code right? Just let yourself in."

"_Thank you Ian," _Lucy replied happily, "_I'll just drop Annie off and pick up some things and I'll be right over."_

Ian placed his phone back down and finished the rest of his drink before checking around his apartment to make sure that it was clean. Once he knew it was he relaxed again and smiled, this was the second time in a week that he would be spending time with Lucy outside of work. Earlier that week they'd had lunch together along with one of Lucy's friends Claire. Spending time together outside of work had been something that they had always done, they had often gone out for dinner or to the movies and concerts however within weeks of Lucy beginning her relationship with Chris earlier in the year it had become obvious that it wasn't going to happen anymore. Chris' jealously had reared its ugly head almost immediately and although Lucy still spent time with Ian it wasn't anywhere near as much as usual and she never admitted it publicly. The hardest part for him had been at a concert they'd both attended, they spent the night together laughing, drinking and at one point Lucy even laced her fingers through his as she stood on her tip-toes to try and get a better view. They'd flirted just like old times causing Claire to smile and whisper, "I like hanging out with you Ian and I know that Luc does too." They'd taken photos but the only ones Lucy had put on her instagram had been of Keegan and Julian two guys who Chris approved of Lucy being friends with as he obviously didn't see them as a threat. Ian would be lying if he said it didn't hurt, but he'd pushed his feelings aside and decided to be thankful for the brief moments that he did get to share with Lucy.

* * *

He heard a light tapping on the door and jumped up quickly, before stopping himself he didn't want to seem too eager to see her.

"Hey Shmian," Lucy said as Ian opened the door, she dropped her bag in the hallway and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug.

"Hi Luc," he replied doing the same.

He pulled her into his living room and they sat down on his couch, Lucy's legs resting across his.

"Did Julian say yes?" Lucy asked glancing up at Ian.

Ian nodded and watched as Lucy bit her lip gently a look of disappointment spread across her face.

"Is it bad that I wish it was just going to be us tomorrow?"

Ian smiled and shook his head, he wished it could just be the two of them too, "No," he replied, "I wish it was too but Julian and I promised ages ago that we'd do something like this and I figured now was a good a time as any."

Lucy nodded, "It might bring more viewers who'll donate to your cause."

"Exactly," Ian said, "and there's nothing stopping us doing another one soon."

Lucy smiled up at him, "Can we?" she asked hopefully, "I really enjoyed the last one."

"Sure," Ian replied, "and soon."

The last Ustream they had done had been in February. Lucy had arrived at his apartment earlier than expected full of apologies. Marni the girlfriend of Chris' brother had booked them into a restaurant for dinner that night and Lucy had been upset that they'd have to cut the stream short because of this. She'd explained that she didn't want to cancel, and this had been the first time that Ian had been aware of Chris' jealous side. The older actor had called Lucy throughout the broadcast and Lucy had hit the 'ignore' button every single time. Ian noticed that Lucy had gotten more and more annoyed with each call, and once it had ended he'd asked her about it.

"_He doesn't want me here," Lucy replied, "and he was probably calling to tell me that. I hate that he doesn't trust me."_

Ian had been the first cast member to know that Lucy had ended things with Chris; she had called him one Sunday morning to ask if she could come over with some brunch. He had been confused as to why, and Lucy had said she'd explain everything when she got there.

Ian had known the moment he opened his door for her that something was wrong and he held out his arms for her, she had practically thrown herself into them and almost immediately began crying. Eventually she had told him that she'd ended things with Chris because of his jealous side, and she'd had to get out of her house so Chris could move his things out. As the conversation went on he'd realised that there had been other issues too. Lucy had said he was disrespectful when it came to her house, he'd often smoke indoors when he was there alone despite knowing that neither she nor Annie liked it. She said she had felt suffocated sometimes because he was living there and she knew it was way too early in their relationship but she felt like she had no other choice and then she had listed numerous other things that he'd done that had led her to the decision to end things but she had still asked Ian if he thought maybe she was being too harsh on him. Ian had told her that he couldn't tell her that, it was something she had to figure out on her own. Lucy had thanked him, and the following week at the TCA's she told him it was definitely over and that Chris had moved all his things out. Then he'd seen photos of them leaving a restaurant the following day and although Lucy hadn't looked happy Ian had been confused as she had seemed so sure the previous day that it was over. Later that week Lucy assured him that it was over, but she'd given in to Chris' pleas to meet up to discuss things, he was desperate to try and work things out but Lucy was adamant that it wasn't a good idea.

"How're you holding up?" Ian asked her.

"Good," Lucy nodded.

"Are you sure?" Ian replied, "I saw his tweets." He chuckled slightly at Lucy's confused expression. "I was 'trolling' at least I think that's the word you use?"

Lucy laughed and nodded her head, "It is, and you're getting better at this internet jargon." She sighed, "He's being an ass," she said, "Everything he said about me is bullshit and he knows this that's why he took it down, but it's out there now and despite his apology people are still going to believe that I cheated."

"I bet the ones that don't believe him outnumber the ones that do," Ian replied.

Lucy nodded, "I just…what if people say something tomorrow?"

"Do you want to cancel?" Ian asked, "Because we can. I'll just post the names of the winners on twitter."

"No," Lucy replied shaking her head, "I want to do it; I want you to get more donations. I'll just ignore any haters."

Ian nodded, "Okay," he said, "but if I'm cutting it short if things get too bad."

It was an hour later when they both climbed into Ian's bed, their exhaustion finally catching up with them. It didn't seem strange to them to be sharing a bed, they'd done it a few times the previous year after late nights out together.

"Goodnight Goose," Ian said.

Lucy smiled, "Goodnight Shmian."

* * *

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and smiled widely, despite starting off on opposite sides of the bed her and Ian had gravitated towards each other during the night, and were now both lying on their sides facing each other. She glanced down at their entwined hands before looking back up to Ian's face which was resting just inches away from her own.

If she was completely honest Chris' jealously of Ian wasn't unwarranted as she was definitely attracted to him and she suspected he was to her, but neither of them would've pursued anything while they were in relationships and unfortunately Ian had been with somebody for almost all the time Lucy had known him. There had been a period of about two months when he'd split up with his long term girlfriend the previous year but she had still been dating Alex Marshall at the time although things were pretty rocky between the two of them, but by the time they'd finally called it quits Sophia and Ian had decided to give their relationship another shot.

Sophia had even attended Lucy's birthday party with Ian, but despite the fact that she had barely seen Ian due to Chris spending most of the evening glued to her side, she had picked up on tension between the two during a brief visit to their table when Chris slipped outside for a smoke. Her instincts had been correct and she had learned through Ashley (via Julian) that they had split up for good less than a week later.

Lucy wondered whether subconsciously that may have been the catalyst for her breaking up with Chris, he'd been doing all the things she had listed as reasons for ending the relationship for months and they'd irritated her the entire time but it was only when she'd heard Ian was single that she'd thought about ending things with Chris.

There was a part of her that wondered whether they were past trying to pursue a relationship together now, which thought maybe they were friend zoned and that the ship had sailed. But there was another bigger part of her that so desperately wanted to try, she'd done the 'bad boy' thing and realised that those relationships did not equal the longevity that she craved. Ian was literally the poster boy for perfect boyfriend material, and they already knew everything about each other. They'd met each other's families numerous times, and got along amazingly with them all and they had also spent time with each other's friends during nights out. It wasn't just fans that thought they should date in real life either, several cast mates had dropped hints, Lucy's friend Claire adored Ian and often told Lucy that he was perfect for her, and during her recent trip home to visit her family even Lucy's mom Julie had suggested that he'd be a perfect boyfriend. Lucy also knew that Ian's own mom Mary had commented to Keegan that she thought Lucy would be the ideal daughter-in-law.

"Morning," Ian said sleepily, instantly snapping Lucy out of her daydream about him.

She blushed embarrassed to have been caught staring, "Morning," she replied.

Ian smiled and like Lucy had done earlier he glanced down towards their hands. He looked back up at her and they both inched closer together their eyes flicking down briefly to each other's lips.

Their lips brushed together, feather light barely even a touch and they caught each other's eyes again and moved in slowly for another kiss. Like the first one it was a chaste, uncertain but the third one was anything but. They kissed with an urgency that surprised them both, and despite the fact that they'd done this hundreds of times over the past three years it felt new.

Ian moved his free hand up to the back of Lucy's neck and she did the same with hers, the kiss deepening. Although Ian had dreamed of kissing Lucy over the entire time they'd known each other he'd never imagined that it would be this good, or that it would feel so right.

They reluctantly pulled apart before things got too heated. Lucy smiled shyly and brushed her thumb against Ian's cheek, "Well," she said, "That didn't feel weird at all."

Ian chuckled, "You thought it would be weird?" he asked.

Lucy nodded, "I thought maybe we had waited too long and that it wouldn't feel right but…"

"It did," Ian replied finishing Lucy's sentence.

"Yeah," Lucy said, "it was perfect."

* * *

"What's up?" Ian asked Lucy later that morning. They'd gotten up about an hour earlier and had shared many more kisses over breakfast. They both agreed that they needed to move slowly with this new relationship as they'd both only recently gone through break-ups and they didn't want to rush things but both had been certain that they wanted to see how things progressed between the two of them.

Lucy frowned, "I signed out of twitter and I can't remember my password or my Ustream one. I've sent a request to have them reset but I've not got anything back yet. I think we're going to have to set up a Ustream account for you just to be sure."

Ian nodded, "Okay," he replied, "So what do I do?"

Lucy laughed, "How about I do it for you. I'm guessing the only time you're gonna stream is when I'm here anyway right? Or are you planning to get another Ustream buddy?"

Ian shook his head and leaned over to kiss her gently, "Nah," he replied his mouth centimetres from hers, "You're the only person I want to stream with."

* * *

"Luc," Julian said as Lucy opened the door to Ian's apartment, "I thought I was early, you must've been here before sunrise."

Lucy smiled and stole a glance at Ian; he smiled back and quickly looked away. "Pretty much," she replied, "It's good to see you Julian."

"Yeah," Julian said, "You too Luc."

"Ian," he said as he walked further into Ian's apartment, "I wouldn't get up this early on a Sunday morning for just anybody you know."

Ian chuckled, "Thanks Julian, I really appreciate it."

They still had about twenty minutes to kill before they were due to start so Ian made them all drinks and they sat down on the sofa in his living room. Lucy automatically put her legs across Ian's; it was something she'd always done when they were alone even before their relationship changed from friendship. Ian kissed her temple and they both remembered at the same time that they weren't alone. They looked over towards Julian who had a smirk on his face. "I knew the moment I walked in here that something was different between you two," he said, "are you…?"

Ian glanced towards Lucy who nodded, "Yeah," Ian said unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face, "we are."

Julian smiled too, Lucy and Ian were two of the people he was closest to on set and their attraction to each other had been discussed by pretty much everybody involved with the show. It was that noticeable to them all even if Lucy and Ian had been blind to it for so long.

"Can I ask when?" Julian replied.

Lucy smiled, "Last night," she said linking her fingers through Ian's, "well actually this morning."

"We kind of wanna keep it on the QT for now though," Ian said, "At least for a little while."

Julian nodded, "Sure, sure," he replied, "Your secret is safe with me."

Lucy knew she was staring at Ian, but she couldn't help herself she was so happy with the change in their relationship. It wasn't just her though they kept stealing glances at each other and smiling.

It became evident early on that Lucy's fears about the Ustream being spammed with negative comments about her had been correct and Ian had discreetly written on a piece of paper '_should we end?' _Lucy shook her head slightly and smiled as Ian squeezed her leg in reassurance but as the comments continued Ian decided he would, and finished things up pretty quickly.

"You didn't have to do that Ian," Lucy said resting her hand on his knee as he lifted himself up from the floor onto the seat next to her, "Honestly I would've just ignored it."

Ian shook his head, "No," he said, "I wasn't going to let people continue to insult you like that."

"Is this about the leg comments?" Julian asked, "Because you weren't showing anything."

Lucy and Ian turned to face him, "Yeah," Lucy said, "I know. I don't think they were about how I'm dressed."

"Luc was worried she'd get comments from fans of Chris," Ian said.

"You think that's what they were?" Julian asked.

Lucy nodded, "I think so, he hinted on twitter that I cheated on him."

"He did?" Julian asked raising his eyebrows in shock.

Lucy nodded, "He deleted the tweets but it's out there now and I guess people are pissed at me for it."

"What an arsehole," Julian replied, "he had to know what he was doing."

Lucy nodded, "I'm sure he did."

* * *

"Do you need a ride home?" Julian asked Lucy as he was getting ready to leave half an hour later, "I didn't notice your car outside."

Lucy shook her head, "No thanks," she replied, "I'm gonna stay here a while longer. Ian and I have plans with Annie."

Julian smiled, "Oh," he said, "Okay then, so I'll see you both on Tuesday?"

Ian nodded, "Yeah Tuesday, and thanks again for doing this."

"It was fun," Julian replied, "We should do it again sometime."

Lucy and Ian both nodded and walked Julian to the door, he turned around to face them, "I promise I won't say a word to anyone about you two," he said.

"Thank you," Ian replied, "it's not that it's a secret it's just that it literally just happened and we need to get used to the idea of us first."

Julian smiled, "I know," he said and made a zipper motion across his lips.

"So," Ian said as he shut his door, "I'm going out with you and Annie?"

Lucy smiled and looped her arms around his neck, "Only if you want to? It's just lunch and a movie. We're planning on watching 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower.'"

"I don't want to intrude," he replied.

Lucy shook her head, "You wouldn't be. I want you there; I'd like to spend the rest of the day with you."

"Yeah," Ian replied his arms wrapping around Lucy's waist so he could pull her closer to him, "I'd like to spend the rest of the day with you too."

He tilted his head to the side and pressed his lips against Lucy's, she smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck holding him against her and she deepened the kiss. This felt way too good and she didn't want it to end any time soon.

**The End**


End file.
